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 SON OF GOD For many Christians today, "Son of God" means "the second person of the Trinity". The idea is that God is known in three persons – God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit – but that there is still only one God. Jesus was God the Son come to earth, fully God and fully human. But is this what the writers of the New Testament meant when they called Jesus the Son of God? Is it what Jesus meant when, and if, he called himself the Son of God? It is fairly certain that Jesus did talk about God as his father, and about himself as the son. However, it probably wouldn't have come over as quite such an astonishing claim as it may seem today. Here's why: 1. Kings and angels are both called sons of God in the Old Testament, so it wouldn't necessarily mean you're claiming to be divine. 2. "Son of" didn't necessarily mean "son of" in the Jewish way of talking. "Son of sin" simply meant a sinner. "Son of the Devil" simply meant someone who followed in the ways of evil. Maybe, therefore, "son of God" could mean someone who is extraordinarily full of the power, love and holiness of God. On the other hand, when you examine the ways Jesus talks about "my father" and "the son" throughout the Gospels, it is clear that he is claiming a unique relationship with God. In other words, Jesus seems to have made some extraordinary and controversial statements about his relationship with "my father". More definitions |
Picture: calligraphy from an Ethiopian Orthodox prayer book. |
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